This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Mathematics Applicants 2012

STEP AFAIK is taken after June exams 2012 so u can still enter for that but i don't know what AEA is, sounds like an equivalent, ring the admissions to make sure.....warwick set high standards for maths though :O

The AEA is this other exam. Warwick's previous A*A*A offer was A*A*A + 2 in STEP/Distinction in the AEA which has been explicitly mentioned . As the AEA is the slightly easier exam, I decided to sit that in Yr12, and got that top grade, so I would only need the A levels to make their offer. If I knew they were goin to remove the AEA, I would have paid the £40 to do STEP I (or even just II) in Year 12.

Yeah, I'm gonna ring em up later.

Reply 1521

Xero Xenith

10

Original post by M1K3

****, http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/entry/2012/#maths , does this mean they are not including a Distinction in the AEA as part of their A*A*A offer :frown:

If I knew this when I entered for it, I would have gone for STEP instead

Yep, check out the equivalent page for 2011:

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/apply/entry/2011/#maths

The AEA has certainly been removed. I guess anything and everything will be confirmed this Saturday at the open day - PM me on Sat/Sun if you're not going, and I'll tell you what they say. Or you could email them :smile:

Thanks for mentioning this BTW. My top two choices will both depend on STEP :s-smilie:

Original post by ishfish25

in order of preference....
1. Cambridge A*AA + STEP grade 1 or higher
2. LSE A*AA
3. UCL A*AA
4. Bristol AAA
and....
5. Kings College AAA... OR... Bath A*AA or A*AB + STEP grade 2 or higher

so Kings college or Bath? Considering i want to get offers and have potential backups

GCSE 10A* 2A
AS level 4A's Maths, Fmaths, Economics, ICT (dropped)
predicted 3A*s at the end of A2

warwick want A*AA and grade 1 in Step or A*A*A and grade 2 in Step which is too risky to take on as a first choice. Imperial want A*A*A. i feel that i can get A*AA for LSE and UCL but im unsure about warwick and my 5th choice..... should warwick be the 5th choice? it would put pressure on getting offers which i really hope i get.

Warwick and Bath both want 2 in STEP. If you're looking at Cambridge for Maths you should probably be getting an A* in Further - they don't require it but when you get to STEP III you'll be working at beyond A* level in Further maths! (STEP I and II aren't Further but they're harder questions than anything in A-level.)

So Warwick and Bath are both good options if you're looking at the top end. But if you're not absolutely certain you'll get the A* in Maths, just having Bristol wanting lower than A* might not be enough, so go for King's. :smile:

Reply 1522

bitchplease

Okay I'm so confused about where I'd like to study, of course I would like to study maths because I enjoy it

My GCSEs aren't fantastic: A*AAAABBBB
MY AS's didnt go according to plan, but I am planning on retaking, they are:

History A
Religious Studies B
Maths C
Economics C (dropped)

As far as unis go I'd like to go somewhere good, perhaps somewhere like Nottingham as these unis don't say you need FM to apply.

What are my chances?

Reply 1523

Xero Xenith

10

Original post by bitchplease

Okay I'm so confused about where I'd like to study, of course I would like to study maths because I enjoy it

My GCSEs aren't fantastic: A*AAAABBBB
MY AS's didnt go according to plan, but I am planning on retaking, they are:

History A
Religious Studies B
Maths C
Economics C (dropped)

As far as unis go I'd like to go somewhere good, perhaps somewhere like Nottingham as these unis don't say you need FM to apply.

What are my chances?

Nottingham might be pushing it a bit to be honest - they want AAA/AAB, and remember the course will be difficult because the standards are high.

How did you do on mocks/past papers? If you have a history of getting As in these but dropped to a C in the actual Maths exams, it might make sense. Otherwise, maybe check out some other ones. The unis with the best teaching aren't always the ones with the highest entry standards :smile:

Reply 1524

bitchplease

Original post by Xero Xenith

Nottingham might be pushing it a bit to be honest - they want AAA/AAB, and remember the course will be difficult because the standards are high.

How did you do on mocks/past papers? If you have a history of getting As in these but dropped to a C in the actual Maths exams, it might make sense. Otherwise, maybe check out some other ones. The unis with the best teaching aren't always the ones with the highest entry standards :smile:

Where would you recommend i apply? And no, my papers have usually been around the B mark.

Also how important is FM for unis around 20th in league tables etc?

What sort of grades/subjects would an average not top 5 student carry?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1525

Xero Xenith

10

Original post by bitchplease

Where would you recommend i apply? And no, my papers have usually been around the B mark.

Also how important is FM for unis around 20th in league tables etc?

What sort of grades/subjects would an average not top 5 student carry?

In my opinion, B would then be a good target for your A-level, since A2 is harder. Check the league tables for ideas on where to apply :smile:

Around 20th? Usually not essential, but still preferred. On this spreadsheet, 19th-23rd is this: (click "Uni info" tab)

King's College London
York
East Anglia
Surrey
Southampton
Sheffield

...which all want between ABC and AAA (A in Maths). It's difficult... do you know your predicted grades?

The average A-level score is a C, so CCC is roughly average :smile:

Reply 1526

BeccaCath94

10

Original post by bitchplease

Okay I'm so confused about where I'd like to study, of course I would like to study maths because I enjoy it

My GCSEs aren't fantastic: A*AAAABBBB
MY AS's didnt go according to plan, but I am planning on retaking, they are:

History A
Religious Studies B
Maths C
Economics C (dropped)

As far as unis go I'd like to go somewhere good, perhaps somewhere like Nottingham as these unis don't say you need FM to apply.

What are my chances?

First of all...good choice with maths! :tongue:

Second: your GCSEs arent that bad...i got exactly the same except one more A* and A..... And i got the same as grades (in different subjects!!) so dont worry :smile:

Im looking at Lancaster (although its in the top 10 the grades are reasonable: AAB), sheffield, leeds, liverpool, leicester.....they're all fairly good.... :smile:

Reply 1527

Jampolo

13

Had a 2 hour STEP lesson today :sexface:

sucks though because none of my class know much of C3 or any C4 except me :frown:

But im enjoying see some 'proper' maths :tongue:

Reply 1528

House Dagoth

so many mathmos on TSR :smile:

I'm looking to apply to St Andrews, does anyone have any ideas of how good the course is? compared to UCL/Bristol etc. (it's 8th in league tables, but I am ignoring them as they change too much every years so unreliable).

In their requirements they ask for AAA with A in maths (no f.maths), which makes me question how good the course is.

EDIT: if there are any past st andrews applicants online, could you tell me what your offer was with f.maths included?

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1529

House Dagoth

Original post by Jampolo

Had a 2 hour STEP lesson today :sexface:

sucks though because none of my class know much of C3 or any C4 except me :frown:

But im enjoying see some 'proper' maths :tongue:

you get to have STEP lessons? :frown:

there isn't enough demand for STEP prep at my sixthform so they don't do it, there are only maybe 3-4 who plan on taking it. (don't know exactly).

what do you do in STEP lessons? just some guy who works through examples and injects mathematical intuition through repetition in to your brains? :biggrin:

Reply 1530

Jampolo

13

Original post by House Dagoth

you get to have STEP lessons? :frown:

there isn't enough demand for STEP prep at my sixthform so they don't do it, there are only maybe 3-4 who plan on taking it. (don't know exactly).

what do you do in STEP lessons? just some guy who works through examples and injects mathematical intuition through repetition in to your brains? :biggrin:

We have atleast 10 people taking STEP this year, teacher says its the most he has ever had! Basically we go through basic questions, and he teaches us lots of little tricks that are sort of intuition based, but none of us would be able to just think of on the spot.

Reply 1531

Xero Xenith

10

Original post by House Dagoth

you get to have STEP lessons? :frown:

there isn't enough demand for STEP prep at my sixthform so they don't do it, there are only maybe 3-4 who plan on taking it. (don't know exactly).

what do you do in STEP lessons? just some guy who works through examples and injects mathematical intuition through repetition in to your brains? :biggrin:

Original post by Jampolo

We have atleast 10 people taking STEP this year, teacher says its the most he has ever had! Basically we go through basic questions, and he teaches us lots of little tricks that are sort of intuition based, but none of us would be able to just think of on the spot.

Lucky! It's just me doing STEP questions at school, and one other guy doing them at home. We get no official support, but one teacher (who went to Oxford... and Harvard) has offered to help us with any hard ones we don't understand.

What else is there to learn with STEP that can't be gotten through the booklets? :s-smilie:

Reply 1532

Schnecke

1

Original post by Xero Xenith

Lucky! It's just me doing STEP questions at school, and one other guy doing them at home. We get no official support, but one teacher (who went to Oxford... and Harvard) has offered to help us with any hard ones we don't understand.

What else is there to learn with STEP that can't be gotten through the booklets? :s-smilie:

Exactly

I was in a similar situation to you (except I was the only one in the school taking it and the teacher went to Cambridge) and I did just fine. Practice is the only thing that really works and as all the solutions are online and most teachers are hopeless anyway you can do very well without extra lessons.

Reply 1533

Jampolo

13

Original post by Xero Xenith

Lucky! It's just me doing STEP questions at school, and one other guy doing them at home. We get no official support, but one teacher (who went to Oxford... and Harvard) has offered to help us with any hard ones we don't understand.

What else is there to learn with STEP that can't be gotten through the booklets? :s-smilie:

Hes been teaching it dot years, and he just knows a lot of little tricks to make things so much easier. Id just never think of them alone :tongue:

Reply 1534

anil10100

Original post by Jampolo

Hes been teaching it dot years, and he just knows a lot of little tricks to make things so much easier. Id just never think of them alone :tongue:

I'm jealous, do you fancy sharing these tricks with TSR :wink:

?

Reply 1535

twig

Original post by Jampolo

Hes been teaching it dot years, and he just knows a lot of little tricks to make things so much easier. Id just never think of them alone :tongue:

I think we just learn to pick up these tricks through past paper practice, as the questions can sometimes be very similar.

Reply 1536

anyone_can_fly

11

Original post by House Dagoth

you get to have STEP lessons? :frown:

there isn't enough demand for STEP prep at my sixthform so they don't do it, there are only maybe 3-4 who plan on taking it. (don't know exactly).

what do you do in STEP lessons? just some guy who works through examples and injects mathematical intuition through repetition in to your brains? :biggrin:

Original post by Jampolo

Had a 2 hour STEP lesson today :sexface:

sucks though because none of my class know much of C3 or any C4 except me :frown:

But im enjoying see some 'proper' maths :tongue:

Our school's head of maths had never heard of STEP when I mentioned it to him last week! :eek:

Feel very jealous of people who get actual lessons.

Reply 1537

Xero Xenith

10

Original post by anyone_can_fly

Our school's head of maths had never heard of STEP when I mentioned it to him last week! :eek:

Feel very jealous of people who get actual lessons.

Wow - I mean no disrespect but that's not very good! Just practise is all you can do I suppose... :s-smilie:

I completed my first STEP II question yesterday :colondollar:

it was... difficult. Put it that way. Screw 45 minutes as an advised time, this took me more like 2 hours!

(STEP II 2007 Q3, integrating 1/(a²+x²)... basically deriving an FP2 result then using it in odd ways. Wasn't too bad until the very last part, which really confused me for over an hour. I tried a few things before I realised my first idea was the right one :tongue:

)

What I find is it's best to just keep trying... if you get demotivated, don't immediately leap for the answer. Just come back to it the next day. It's so much more satisfying when you complete it that way :smile:

STEP seems hard now but for us peeps already cracking on with practise, it should be very doable in 9 months time! :biggrin:

Reply 1538

Dirac Spinor

10

Original post by Xero Xenith

Wow - I mean no disrespect but that's not very good! Just practise is all you can do I suppose... :s-smilie:

I completed my first STEP II question yesterday :colondollar:

it was... difficult. Put it that way. Screw 45 minutes as an advised time, this took me more like 2 hours!

(STEP II 2007 Q3, integrating 1/(a²+x²)... basically deriving an FP2 result then using it in odd ways. Wasn't too bad until the very last part, which really confused me for over an hour. I tried a few things before I realised my first idea was the right one :tongue:

)

What I find is it's best to just keep trying... if you get demotivated, don't immediately leap for the answer. Just come back to it the next day. It's so much more satisfying when you complete it that way :smile: